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Huron River Report Published Quarterly by the Huron River Watershed Council Protecting the River Since 1965 Spring 2009

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Huron River Report Published Quarterly by the Huron River Watershed Council Protecting the River Since 1965 Spring 2009 Huron River Report Published quarterly by the Huron River Watershed Council Protecting the river since 1965 Spring 2009 MiCorps pg 5 “Down” by the River Implementing LID pg 7 Swans of the watershed Giving You a Better View pg 9 Swans of any kind are majestic looking observable at close range. In birds, and in the Huron River watershed the summer, the Trumpeter is three different species of swans use the the only black-billed swan that wetlands and open waters at various times remains in the watershed. If you of the year. Only two of the species are are lucky enough to hear the “native” to the area: the Tundra Swan and call of the Trumpeter Swan in the Trumpeter Swan. Further, only two the summer, then you will know species actually nest in the watershed: the exactly which species you are non-native Mute Swan and the Trumpeter. hearing and seeing. This species is appropriately named! SWAN IDENTIFicaTION 101 Swans are large, white birds with long TUNDRA SWAN necks, but telling various species apart can As its name implies, the Tun- be tricky so here is a short lesson in swan dra Swan prefers the northern identification. The Mute Swan is the easi- tundra to our area for breeding, est to identify and the most commonly but even this well-insulated bird found. The Mute Swan is the only swan does not spend winters there. with an orange bill and a black knob at The Huron River watershed is Trumpeter swans. photo: used with permission from the Trumpeter Swan the base of the bill. It often holds its neck a stop along its migratory path Society, www.trumpeterswansociety.org in a curved fashion, rather than straight from the northern tundra to up and down like the two native species. eastern coastal states of New Erie. This species is rarely seen in other The other two species have bills that are Jersey through North Carolina. However, parts of the watershed. When they do pass smooth and black, except that the Tundra some Tundra Swans winter on open water through, they often travel in good-sized has a yellow spot on its bill often only at the mouth of the Huron River, on Lake continued on page 3 Great Lakes Compact Approved What it means for Michigan In October 2008, after a decade of discus- ter conservation, return flow, prevention primarily under the authority of individual sion, negotiation, drafting, and legislative of environmental impacts, and uniform states and provinces. Regional bodies have deliberation, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence treatment for ground and surface water been established to provide oversight for River Basin Water Resources Compact has withdrawals. the process and review certain large-scale been approved by Congress and signed by water uses. the President. The federal approval comes after all eight Great Lakes states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, WHAT IT MEANS FOR MICHIGAN The Great Lakes compact prohibits large- Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsyl- In 2006, Michigan enacted a new water scale diversions of water out of the water- vania, and New York) ratified the compact management law that for the first time shed. More significantly, it applies water in their respective legislatures. Under the imposed permits and other regulatory use rules and environmental protection compact and a companion agreement requirements on large-scale water with- standards to withdrawals for use within with the Canadian provinces of Ontario drawals. Along with approving the Great the watershed. The compact’s standards and Quebec, the world’s largest freshwater Lakes compact during the 2008 legislative represent advances in the development of resource will be protected and managed water use law in the region, including wa- according to standards administered continued on page 4 Table of Contents Featured Articles * = Adopt-A-Stream Monitoring Site “Down” by the River ..........cover Indicates geographic Swans of the watershed location connected to article. Great Lakes Compact Approved......cover What it means for Michigan Michigan Clean Water Corps..................5 Bringing water monitors together from across the state HRWC Spring and Summer Activities.....6 Many opportunities for watershed fun! Implementing Low Impact Development ....................7 New resource for designers and reviewers cover page 7 page 10 New HRWC Members ...................8 Events Welcome NEW individual and business members Friday, March 13, 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM Saturday, May 2, 10 AM – 4 PM Your Legacy ....................8 Millers Creek Film Festival Bioreserve Field Assesment Training A better future for all living things Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor – FREE Matthaei Botanical Gardens Contact: [email protected] Contact: [email protected] Giving You a Better View ....................9 How phosphorus impacts our waterways Saturday, April 4, 12 PM – 5 PM Saturday, May 16 at 1 PM – 4 PM Adopt-A-Stream Huron History and Geocaching Leadership Training New Center, Ann Arbor NEW Center, Ann Arbor Contact: [email protected] Regular Features Contact: [email protected] Sunday, May 17, 12 PM – 3 PM or Saturday, April 25, 9 AM – 3:30 PM 2 PM – 5 PM Know Your Board Representative...........10 Sally Lusk, City of Ypsilanti or 10:30 AM – 5 PM Adopt-A-Stream ID Day Adopt-A-Stream River Round Up NEW Center, Ann Arbor Sign up by April 7 Contact: [email protected] Laura’s “Stream” of Consciousness..........11 Contact: [email protected] A symphony for the Huron River Watershed Sunday May 31, 7 AM – 12 PM Thursday, April 30 5:30 PM – 7 PM Ann Arbor Dexter Run You Make the Difference! ..................11 HRWC Annual Meeting HRWC Water/Aid Station Become a member of HRWC Location: Matthaei Botanical Contact: [email protected] Gardens, Dixboro Rd., Ann Arbor Thank You! back cover Contact: [email protected] More events and updates at: www.hrwc.org HRWC offices are located at the NEW Center 1100 N. Main Street in Ann Arbor Call (734) 769-5123 or visit the HRWC website for directions Page 2 Spring 2009 Huron River Report “Down” by the River continued from cover flocks, though an occasional straggler may linger if there is open water. MUTE SWAN Few Ann Arbor residents may be aware that the most commonly observed swan, the Mute Swan, is an introduced, non- native species that began colonizing the Great Lakes area in the 1960s. Though these Eurasian birds were released in the northeastern U.S. in the late 1800s, biolo- gists have only recently become attuned to the extraordinary increases in their populations. Locally, the Ann Arbor Christ- mas Bird Count (CBC), an annual December survey of all birds within a 7.5-mile radius Mute Swans and Trumpeter Swans seen on the Ann Arbor Christmas Bird Counts since 1965. circle centered in Ann Arbor, has recorded The y-axis is the number of birds seen divided by the effort (party hours) made to find them, high numbers of Mute Swans in recent not the actual numbers of each species. Numbers of waterfowl are usually dependent on years (see graph). whether or not there is open water so one needs to look at the overall trend of change in numbers, not just one or two years. More information is available at www.audubon.org. credit: Audubon Christmas Bird Count website Large numbers of this most aggressive swan may begin to generate ecological In the early 1930s, only 69 individuals of Pond, the Arboretum, and in Little Lake, all problems for the State of Michigan, which Trumpeters were known to exist in the part of the Huron River Watershed. These until a 2001 federal court decision, was northwestern United States. Efforts to swans may or may not be locally nesting one of the few Great Lake states that of- expand populations have led to increases birds, but they likely will return to these fered protection for this bird. Mute Swans in Trumpeter Swan numbers with the larg- open water sites along the Huron River aggressively maintain large territories est populations being on the west coast. every winter as long as they can find food. during the breeding season, fending off All birds that are found east of the Rockies other waterfowl and wetland-dependent are a part of restoration projects that have BATTLING FOR PRIME REAL ESTATE birds. They feed year-round on submerged taken place since the 1960s. Gallup Park patrons can see (and often aquatic vegetation, limiting food for native hear) the Trumpeters most frequently dur- migrant and resident waterfowl and de- Efforts in southwestern Michigan and at ing the winter and early spring. Unfortu- pleting habitat for invertebrates, fish and the Seney National Wildlife Refuge (in nately, every spring the Mute Swans have other animals. Mute Swans also tend to the Upper Peninsula) have brought the discouraged the Trumpeters from nesting feed on high-quality native plants, provid- Trumpeter Swan populations in Michigan in the Gallup/South Pond area with ag- ing an opportunity for aquatic weeds to to at least 200 individuals today. The only gressive territorial behavior, even though grow into the area. reintroduction effort that took place in the Trumpeters are much larger birds. As southeastern Michigan occurred in Ann a result of these territorial assertions, the Mute Swans prefer to nest in sites that Arbor. Pinioned Trumpeter Swan parents Mute Swans have tended to nest along the have easy access to open water, and a first nested successfully in 1994 at Geddes Huron River while the Trumpeter Swans mated pair often will nest in the same Lakes townhouses near Gallup Park. While have nested in ponds or marshes with area year after year. The pair, which mates the original parents were removed from ponds. It will be interesting to see how the for life, usually stays in the nesting area the site, at least one of the young, along local populations of the two swan species throughout the year, as long as open water with a mate from introduced Ohio popula- interact over the years.
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